CLAMP Crossover Detectives
by Meia
Summary: Tsukishiro Yukito and Kinomoto Touya-- Psychic Detectives.
1. First Encounter

  
Warning: Spoilers for the Sakura Card Arc.  
  
This 'fic isn't entirely by me. In fact, it isn't /mostly/ by me--I only contributed the opening, Liz did the rest when it came to the story itself. The concept, scenes, and some of the dialogue were ICQed out between the two of us, though. XD  
  
This is a what-if 'fic set in the future, after Syaoran comes back. The timeline has been played rather fast and loose with--Touya and Yuki are around 23 and still in studying in University, Sakura's seventeen or so, and in this continuum, Touya got his power back from Yue, because Touya unable to see ghosts just isn't... Touya.   
  
We were discussing possible future careers for the both of them, and finally decided that they would become Psychic Detectives in the future. *preen* This is also a mild crossover with the grey area inbetween Tokyo Babylon and X, because Subaru and Sei-chan appear. *waves a flag* There's also a small cameo of Yami no Matsuei... if you can figure out what it is, you get a virtual cookie. This 'fic is based on the Japanese version on CCS, and because I am sweet and nice, I shall not be elitist and scorn the poor people who only know Cardcaptors.   
  
*pause*  
  
But I /will/ pity them. :P *BRICK* Well, the only difference is in the names, really. Sakura's brother is called Touya, his best friend is Yukito, or Yuki, and it's Kinomoto Touya and Tsukishiro Yukito. (I have a theory, probably borrowed from someone else, that they called Touya "Tori", which is a girl's name, because they wanted to reveal in the future that he's actually a girl, and thus explain away the Tori/Julian romantic relationship. So all they have to decide on now is whether homosexual couples or transvestites are worse.)  
  
Anyway. :P  
  
(Quickie Japanese lesson! Onii-chan: Brother, Ofuda: Nifty little cards with what appears to be sanskrit inscriptions on them that onmyouji use to cast various spells, Onmyouji: Medium, what Subaru is, Subaru: NOT a car, Kaijuu: Monster, Yukito: Snow rabbit.)  
  
--------------------------------------------------  
  
*ring* *click*  
  
"Tsukishiro and Kinomoto Psychic Detectives Inc, may I help you?"  
  
Pause.  
  
"No... No, I don't."  
  
Another pause.  
  
"Yes, so?"  
  
"...No, I don't /care/ who's worn it before..."   
  
"Yes, as a matter of fact I am. ... ... No, even so, I don't wear lingerie,"  
  
He heard a soft spluttering noise and a series of coughs from behind him, and hoped that meant that his partner was choking on hot coffee.   
  
"Look, unless your underwear is haunted, don't ever call this number again." *slam*  
  
He turned around and glared. "I'm glad someone finds this amusing."  
  
The other only gave him an angelic smile in reply.  
  
~ * ~  
  
/My name is Kinomoto Touya, and I'm a psychic detective./  
  
/That snow-rabbit at the back is my partner, Yuki. He has a mild split-personality disorder, in that he occasionally grows a pair of wings and around seven feet of hair, and it's mild because I've seen what really bad MPD is like... Like that guy who would turn into a three-tonne black winged lion if he was touched by a girl. Well, mostly by girls--we found out his secret when Yuki accidentally brushed against him. Poof, instant spirit-beast, just add water. Yuki was a bit miffed by that, as I recall./  
  
/Yuki's alter-ego is called Yue. He used to be a glaring ice-block who didn't like my sister. He has since reformed./  
  
/.../  
  
/At least, about the 'not liking my sister' part./  
  
/Being a psychic detective may sound like an interesting job, but we get more false alarms than anything else. The last call we got was from a blind girl who thought that a poltergeist was moving her stuff around, since every morning, nothing was where she left it the night before./  
  
/It turned out to be her ex-boyfriend. She turned out to be a dead shot with a frying pan./   
  
~ * ~  
  
Touya jabbed his pen at the paper in front of him. Their latest case had something to do with a demon terrorising the local countryside. It was reported by an old lady that had spent half the time gushing about how the world needed more sweet, polite young men. Needless to say, she was talking to Yukito.  
  
They probably wouldn't get nearly enough money for it either, and they were putting their lives on the line, here.  
  
He looked at his watch impatiently. 4:30.  
  
"Come on, snow bunny," he said to his beglassed partner. "Let's get home and ready for our job tonight."  
  
Yukito followed him out of the office with no complaints. Since they were both studying, they ran their 'business' part-time, opening for a few hours (clearly stated on the business cards Touya's father had printed off for them at the university) on weekdays, when Touya and/or Yukito had a break, and from 10-5 Saturday.  
  
It got them enough money to get by at university, and that was fine with them. It meant Touya still had to live with his family, including a younger sister with far too much magical power for her own job, and an animated stuffed flying mouse that ate way too much of the household's desserts. But Yukito had also moved in, being that his other side looked upon said younger sister as his master and wanted to be close to her.  
  
Yukito technically had the spare room, but the bed was rarely used, and the room itself mostly only contained his study materials.  
  
He opened the door and took off his shoes in the usual way, and greeted his sister in the usual way.  
  
As usual, she was baking something, Kero-chan hovering anxiously above her shoulder.   
  
"Oniichan! Are you Working tonight?"  
  
He nodded, shortly.  
  
"Can I come with you?"  
  
"Absolutely not," said Touya, firmly.  
  
"Oniichan... I'm not a little girl any more."  
  
"A monster like you would just mess things up," he said, closing his eyes somewhat snobbishly. He thought he saw Yukito hide a smile.  
  
"O-NII-CHAN!" *stamp*  
  
He clutched at his foot. /I'm twenty-three years old, and I never learn./  
  
After dinner, he and Yukito took their little blue Subaru to the location we had been given. There was no guarantee that this 'demon' would turn up tonight, but we prepared for the worst. The two hour trip out to the country seemed to drag on and on, but of course they got there eventually.  
  
The area was quiet and almost devoid of psychic impressions.  
  
/We don't get paid nearly enough for this job./  
  
"Can you see anything?" asked Yukito.  
  
/Perhaps I didn't say exactly why we opened a Psychic Detectives business. The simple reason is - I can see ghosts. I gave up this power in order to prevent Yue, and therefore Yukito, from disappearing, but Yue was kind enough to restore my powers to me once my sister's power had increased enough./  
  
Touya shook his head. Yukito took his friend's arm and gently dragged him to a convenient park bench. "Well, we haven't anything better to do but wait then," he said, sitting down and pulling Touya down with him.  
  
Touya sighed. Yukito snuggled up to his side contentedly. "We need to go out on dates more often," he said, quietly.  
  
"Uh, Yuki? We're not on a date."  
  
"I know," said Yukito, kissing him gently. "So we should do this sometime when we are on a date," he added as he pulled away.  
  
A sudden flare of power above him made Touya look up in shock, effectively shattering the moment.  
  
"Oniichan," called Sakura, swooping towards the ground at high speed, seated on a gravitationally impossible stick with wings. Her little yellow stuffed toy followed behind her, white wings fluttering.  
  
/Did I forget to mention that my sister is the master of a pack of magical cards and can thus do things that even ordinary magicians would be hard-pressed to manage, and that the aforementioned Kero-chan is to all appearances a stuffed winged mouse?/  
  
"Sakura..." he said, with exaggerated patience, "how did you get here?" /It was perfectly obvious why she was here, something which did nothing to alleviate my concern. Not that I'll ever admit to it out loud,/  
  
"I followed your car," she said, jumping off her flying stick and onto the ground.  
  
"Why?"  
  
"Kero-chan said he thought I might be needed... and I felt it too. I felt I had to come with you tonight."  
  
/My little sister isn't usually this coherent. Perhaps she really had felt something./  
  
"I told her it was going to be dangerous," grumbled Touya quietly to Yukito.  
  
Yuki smiled. "To-ya, she was risking her life at ten. I don't think she's stopped at seventeen."  
  
Touya just grunted. He addressed his errant sister again. "Just don't put yourself in any danger, kaijuu," he said. /I was also somewhat annoyed at her ruining my quiet time with Yuki./  
  
"Sakura isn't a monster!" shrieked Sakura, seeming to forget her age of seventeen years.  
  
"Still have that sister complex, ne, To-ya?" murmured Yukito.  
  
"Shut up."  
  
Another sudden rise in power caused Touya to whip around. He performed an identification spell that Yue had taught him after returning his power. "It's definitely a demon of some sort," he said, quietly. "Sakura, don't do anything stupid."  
  
Yukito went into Serious Mode, which usually heralded a change into Yue. Sure enough, a buzzing noise and flare of white light produced a taller, more arrogant, longer haired version of Yukito, with rather large white wings.  
  
"It's too powerful for you alone," said Yue.  
  
Sakura was stuttering something about ghosts. "Sakura!" yelled Kero-chan. "Use the Shield Card!"  
  
That seemed to snap her out of it, though she still seemed very pale. "Shield!" she yelled, initiating a transparent barrier between her 'family' and the demon.  
  
"Now what do I do?" she asked, frantically.  
  
"Try the attack cards," said Kero-chan.   
  
Sakura nodded. "Firey!" she yelled, angling a blast of fire at the demon. It shrieked in pain, but didn't disappear. "It's not working!"  
  
Touya had been blasting random spells at the demon, under the instruction of the ever-'helpful' Yue. None appeared to be having an effect.  
  
A different flare of power caught the attention of all four. Momentarily distracted, they turned to watch as a tall figure threw several ofuda at the demon, apparently weakening it.  
  
"Try Watery," said Yue, calmly. "Demons don't react well to water. It weakens them. If we weaken it enough, one of those ofuda should exorcise it."  
  
Sakura nodded. "Watery!" She aimed a blast of water at the demon.   
  
True to Yue's prediction the next ofuda caused the demon to scream in frustration and agony, and disappear.  
  
Sakura huffed exhaustedly. "Hoe," She took a moment to catch her breath. "Is it always like this, oniichan?"  
  
Touya shook his head. Behind him, Yue made the transformation back to Yukito, who stood there blinking for a few moments in confusion. "To-ya, what happened?"  
  
Touya shook his head again, this time in bewilderment. "I'm not exactly sure,"  
  
Kero-chan fluttered his way over to the newcomer. "Who are you?" he asked folding his 'arms'.  
  
Sakura took down her shield. "Light!" she called, producing enough light to show their new companion, but not enough to catch the attention of the neighbours.  
  
Their 'rescuer' was a young man of around Touya's age, with dark hair and green eyes. He stared at Kero-chan in mild shock. "What?" he said. "What are you?"  
  
"I'm Kerberous, the mighty Seal Beast!"  
  
"Seal Beast?" repeated the young man, faintly.  
  
"The greatest creation of the Magician Clow Read!" continued Kero-chan. Touya thought he heard a soft choking from behind him, and surmised (correctly) Yue had said something particularly acidic to Yukito.  
  
/One more-recent aspect of Yuki's 'disorder' is that Yue has started to speak to him in his mind. Yuki says he's grateful because it means that Yue usually gives him warning before changing on him./  
  
"Clow Reed? I know that name..." The young man frowned, puzzled.  
  
"Did I ever tell you how adorable you look when you do that, Subaru-kun?"   
  
Everyone spun at the new voice. The speaker was an even taller man in his mid-thirties, who somehow managed to be startlingly attractive despite missing one eye. He had a teasing smile that somehow seemed less-than kind.  
  
"Seishirou-san!" squeaked 'Subaru-kun'.  
  
"To answer your question, Subaru-kun," continued 'Seishirou-san', "Clow Reed was a magician that mixed Western Magic with Eastern Magic... Although I thought his greatest creation was said to be a book of magical cards." He turned to look at Sakura with a calculating stare.  
  
"Seishirou-san, why are you following me?" asked Subaru, seeming annoyed.  
  
"Now, Subaru-kun, why do you always assume everything I do has something to do with you? In actual fact I was following the young lady on the flying stick here."  
  
Everyone turned to stare at Sakura, who gulped. "You.. saw?" she said, in a small voice.  
  
A low buzzing indicated that Yukito had once again gained several feet of hair, wings, purple eyes and an Attitude. "He felt your power and that caught his attention," said Yue.  
  
"Yue-san!" Sakura blinked. "I'm sorry," she ventured. "I didn't think..."  
  
No one was listening to her. Subaru and Seishirou were staring at Yue, who was regarding Seishirou with barely-disguised suspicion. Touya was similarly glaring at the older man.  
  
"How did you do that?" asked Seishirou, looking at Yue with great interest.  
  
Yue gave him a faintly snobbish look, and transformed back into Yukito. /Yue dislikes explanations. We discovered that the first time he transformed in front of someone else./ Touya thought he heard Yukito mutter something about not being asked first.  
  
Seishirou gave the pale-haired boy a look that plainly said he was still waiting for an answer.  
  
Yukito hesitated. He glanced helplessly at Touya, not knowing what he was supposed to be answering.  
  
/How does a person explain that he's actually the false form of a being created by a very evil (in the non-homicidal sense of the word) very old, very powerful magician who was last seen in the form of an equally evil spectacle-wearing nine-year old?/  
  
Sakura stepped forward nervously. "Anou... Yue-san is another of Clow's creations. He's the other guardian of the Cards. Yukito-san is his human form..." /Sometimes I suspect that despite having a boyfriend of her own that I'm not entirely certain I approve of, Sakura hasn't quite gotten over her crush on Yuki./  
  
"I see. Do you have these cards on you?" asked Seishirou, attempting an encouraging smile.  
  
Touya scowled. "Don't you touch her," he said, warningly.  
  
Seishirou raised a fine black eyebrow at him. "You don't have nearly enough power to fight a demon," he said, still polite, although the implied 'or me' was still there. "Why are you here?"  
  
"Yukito and I run a Psychic Investigations agency," said Touya, coldly. "We were called in here by an old lady who described what sounded, to me, like a trapped spirit."  
  
"You could have been in a lot of danger," spoke up Subaru, who had until then been quietly glowering at Seishirou. Touya idly wondered what their past was. "Do you often get cases like this?"  
  
Touya shook his head. "This is the first one."  
  
Subaru hesitated, then produced a card from somewhere inside his jacket. "If you ever run into something like this again, please, call me. It's my job to deal with things like this..."  
  
Touya took the card with the pager number on it. "Uh, thank you, but will you have time to get here?"  
  
"Oh, I'm sure Yue-san can hold any demons off until Subaru arrives on the scene," said Seishirou, eyeing Yukito.   
  
Their tense conversation was broken suddenly and unexpectedly by Yukito.  
  
"To-ya, we brought some food, didn't we?"  
  
/I'm certain that Yukito eats enough for seven people, not two. At any rate, I make sure to bring food along on our Jobs./ Touya nodded.  
  
Yukito made his way to the car quickly, and brought back enough food for five people and one Seal Beast. He offered some to everyone politely, and then sat back on the park bench comfortably.  
  
Subaru stared at him, bemused. Touya groaned, mentally.  
  
"You see their car?" murmured Seishirou to Subaru, quietly, but not so quietly that Touya couldn't hear it. "It's a Subaru."  
  
Subaru was quiet.  
  
"So?" said Touya, still irritated.  
  
"I've always wanted a Subaru..." said Seishirou, with a wicked smile at the green-eyed young man.  
  
"/Seishirou-san!/" squeaked Subaru.  
  
Before Touya could say anything, their conversation was once again interrupted, this time by a crack of thunder and a downpour of cold rain.  
  
They all made a dash for a nearby shrine. Subaru muttered words of thanks as they piled under the meagre shelter.   
  
Sakura sneezed wetly. Touya glanced at her, concerned. "We should go home," he said to Yukito. Yukito nodded in agreement.  
  
Subaru seemed to agree. "I should ring a taxi," he said, reaching into his pocket for his phone.  
  
"Well, if you're all going there's not much point in me staying now, is there?" said Seishirou. "Allow me to give you a lift home, Subaru-kun!"  
  
"No!"  
  
"Really, Subaru-kun. You used to accept lifts from me all the time."  
  
Subaru shook his head determinedly.  
  
Touya took pity on the young man. "We'll give you a ride back, if you like. We have room in the back, even with Sakura and Kero-chan."  
  
Subaru blinked at him. "Thank you very much," he said, eventually.  
  
Touya nodded. Together, the four of them made their way to the car.  
  
~ * ~  
  
"Tsukishiro and Kinomoto Psychic Detectives Inc, how may I help you?"  
  
Pause.  
  
"No, I'm sorry, ma'am. We're Psychic /Detectives/, we don't do séances."  
  
A shorter pause.  
  
"We investigate reports of ghosts and things. Yes, I understand how you were confused. Goodbye."  
  
He hung up. Yukito glanced at him sympathetically. Touya held his head in his hands. "/Why me?/" he moaned, despondently.  
  
Yukito laughed.  
  
Touya grunted, unimpressed.  
  
"To-ya?"  
  
"Yes?"  
  
"Don't worry. /I/ love you."  
  
Touya felt himself start to smile, despite himself. "Come here," he ordered his snow bunny, pulling the other young man into a fierce hug as soon as he obeyed.  
  
He stood there for a very long time, feeling the beat of Yukito's heart against his chest. "How about that date you mentioned," he murmured, after what felt like eternity. "Ueno Park?"  
  
Yukito smiled, and leant forward to gently kiss him on the lips. "Sounds wonderful."  
  
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Next Episode: Touya and Yuki go on that date to Ueno Park. Three guesses as to who they'll meet there...  
  



	2. Ueno Park

  
Notes by Flamebyrd: Again, /this/ is narration by Touya, *this* is an action or sound effect, and Sakura calls Touya oniichan, because 'brother' just sounds stupid. A lot of this was written over ICQ and IRC by Meia and I being silly, so there's a small amount of out of character behaviour. Spoilers for all of Tokyo Babylon and Card Captor Sakura. All characters belong to CLAMP.  
  
Meianotes: A-ra. My fault for not putting this up, it was done /ages/ ago. Yes, again mostly done by her, and she has an ff.n account now, but the first chapter was posted under my name, so. Contains shonen-ai and all that good stuff. Wai.   
  
CLAMP Crossover Detectives II - Ueno Park   
  
It was a beautiful Sunday morning. The sakura in the park were in full bloom, the air wasn't too cool, and it was quiet. It seemed that most people had opted to spend this particular morning inside.  
  
Kinomoto Touya and Tsukishiro Yukito were sitting in the front office of Yukito's house, from where they ran 'Tsukishiro and Kinomoto Psychic Detectives, Inc.' Technically the house belonged to Yukito's grandparents, but since no one was entirely certain whether they actually existed or not (not even Yukito was sure) Touya and Yuki used the office, fortunately located right at the front of the house, for their business.  
  
And occasionally they spent the entire weekend at the house, when they wanted a little privacy.  
  
The clock on the wall clicked over to 10:00am. Yukito was looking out the window longingly and Touya was glowering at the phone, daring it to ring.  
  
"That's it," he said, standing up. "I've had enough."  
  
Yukito blinked at him, confused.  
  
/What with studying for university and running our 'psychic detective agency', Yuki and I don't get nearly enough time to spend entirely by ourselves. There's always some test the next day, or an assignment to be finished, or some ghost to exorcise... And when I have a free day, he doesn't and vice versa./  
  
"We don't get nearly enough time together. It's a beautiful day outside - let's spend it with each other at the park."  
  
There were no arguments from Yukito's side.  
  
Touya remembered to switch the answering machine on as they left.  
  
~ * ~  
  
Yukito leaned against Touya as they walked, Touya's arm around his waist. "We need to do this more often," he said, with a small smile that Touya sensed rather than saw.  
  
Touya just hummed in reply, content to simply enjoy his friend's company and bask in the warmth of Yukito's personality.  
  
They turned a corner to discover a secluded grove, complete with obligatory park bench. Yukito guided him to it, with a little laugh. "Do you ever have that feeling of deja vu?" he asked, settling himself against Touya's side again.  
  
Touya ruffled his friend's hair."You like park benches, do you, Yuki?"  
  
"Mm... When I'm with you..." murmured Yuki against his ear, before moving down to nuzzle at Touya's throat.  
  
/Yuki might seem shy, but you'd be surprised at what he does when we're alone.../  
  
They spent several minutes just enjoying being twenty-three and in love.  
  
Unfortunately, a tickle on the edge of Touya's senses forced him to pull away briefly. "Yuki... there's people coming."  
  
"Mm... people we know?" asked Yukito, just before leaning around to kiss him on the lips.  
  
"Ah..." breathed Touya, when they broke apart. He took a few seconds to compose himself. "Yes..."  
  
Yukito made a small, disappointed noise. /Yuki doesn't like embarrassing his friends - well, those other than me. He's kind of sweet that way./  
  
Seconds later, Kinomoto Sakura and Li Syaoran entered the grove. They were talking quietly and - Touya blinked - holding hands.  
  
/You could say that Li Syaoran and I have Issues with each other. Mostly they stem from the fact that when I first met him, he and my sister had a rather large rivalry thing going on, to do with capturing these cards of Sakura's. As Yuki will cheerfully tell you, I have a small 'sister complex'./  
  
/The fact that he then developed a rather large crush on Yuki didn't help matters much. He and Sakura might have made up - and, predictably, fallen in love as most such rivals do - but that doesn't mean I like him any better. It's probably more habit than anything, else, by now./  
  
/I'm fairly certain the feeling is mutual./  
  
Yukito sat up as he saw who it was. "Good morning, Sakura-chan," he said, smiling sweetly.  
  
"Yukito-san!" exclaimed Sakura. "Oniichan... What are you doing here?"  
  
Touya glanced at Yukito pointedly. "What are you doing here?" he asked of his little sister.  
  
"Well..." began Sakura, uncomfortably. "Syaoran and I were... uh..."  
  
"On a date, yes?" said Yukito, smiling again. "Are you having a good time?"  
  
Sakura blushed. "Yes."  
  
"That's great," said Yukito. /Sometimes I almost feel that my boyfriend is a little too nice... But then, if he wasn't, he wouldn't be Yuki./ "Would you like to join us for ice cream?"  
  
Touya tried to give him a Look, but Yukito was looking at Sakura expectantly.  
  
"Sure!" she said, enthusiastically.   
  
"Let's go find an icecream stall shall we, then?" said Yukito cheerfully. He glanced at Touya and Syaoran. "I think we'd all better go together, ne?" /Yukito isn't half as innocent as he pretends to be. I know this better than anyone - he can read me like a book./  
  
/Although really, anyone would know better than to leave me alone with that boy./  
  
Syaoran blushed. Touya just gave his "best friend" a resigned look. The four of them tramped off, Sakura dragging Syaoran along by the hand.  
  
Yukito was in full spirits, pointing out the brightly coloured leaves, various small birds and insects to Sakura.  
  
Sakura stopped beneath a tall, blooming pink Sakura. "Pretty!" she exclaimed, happily.  
  
Syaoran wasn't so impressed. "I feel something here..." he said, frowning in concentration.  
  
Touya looked, and then had to look away. Yukito regarded him questioningly. "There are a lot of spirits here," explained Touya, very quietly, "and none of them are happy." /Sometimes my 'other' sight is a pain in the neck, and this was definitely one of those times. The screams of wailing, murdured spirits are not the most pleasant things in the world./  
  
"What is it, Li-kun?" asked Sakura, apparently falling back into Card Captor mode and dropping her more usual 'Syaoran'. "It's not a gho... a ghost, is it?" she added, in a small, frightened voice.  
  
Syaoran hesitated.  
  
Whatever he was going to say, however, was interrupted by the sound of someone running towards them, and then by the appearance of a black-haired figure that seemed somehow familiar...  
  
"Subaru-san!" exclaimed Sakura.  
  
Aha. Now Touya made the connection.  
  
"You shouldn't be here!" said Subaru, frantically. "It's dangerous for someone with Power to be here, it's..."  
  
"Now, really, Subaru-kun. That's very rude."  
  
Subaru's look could best be described as distressed, depressed, surprised and resigned, all at once. "Seishirou-san," he said, warningly. "It's me you want. Don't hurt them."  
  
The man Subaru called Seishirou was leaning against the aforementioned tree, looking deceptively casual. "Now, why would I want to do that?"  
  
Subaru glared. "I don't trust you."  
  
"And here I thought we were in love..."  
  
"Seishirou-san!"  
  
Sakura said something that sounded suspiciously like 'hoe?'  
  
"Sakura..." said Syaoran, quietly, tugging on her arm. "I think we should go now..." Touya could tell the younger boy didn't trust the enigmatic Seishirou. /Li Syaoran has no little magic power of his own... I don't blame the kid for being suspicious of him. I don't think I trust him myself./  
  
"Go? Where were you going?" asked Seishirou, seeming interested.  
  
Sakura blinked at him nervously. "Um... we were going to get some icecream..."  
  
Seishirou snapped his fingers. "That's a marvellous idea. Let's all go together."  
  
"Hoe..."  
  
"Seishirou-san," repeated Subaru, warningly.  
  
"Oh, don't worry so much, Subaru-kun. I'm not going to hurt them."  
  
Subaru regarded him doubtfully.  
  
"I promise."  
  
Subaru narrowed his eyes at the older man. "Just make sure you keep it."  
  
Syaoran pulled Sakura out and back onto the path, obviously unimpressed, with Seishirou following closely at their heels. Subaru hurried behind them.  
  
Touya reflected on how they appeared to completely have forgotten his and Yukito's presence. "Yuki?" he asked, regarding his boyfriend worriedly.  
  
"I think we should go with them," said Yukito. The pair of them followed quickly.  
  
"So your name is Sakura, is it? I like that name..." Seishirou was saying, as Touya and Yuki caught up.  
  
Touya glowered at the older man's back.  
  
"Do you like Sakura trees?"  
  
Sakura nodded. "Mm. They're so pretty..."  
  
"Do you know why that Sakura back there is pink?"  
  
"Hoe?"  
  
"It's feeding on the blood..."  
  
"...of corpses buried beneath it", interrupted Subaru. "Yes, Seishirou-san, why don't you try a different pick up line for once?"  
  
"Now, that's not a very Subaru thing to say..." scolded Seishirou.  
  
Subaru rolled his eyes. "You know... Seishirou-san, is it me, or do you hit on anything that moves? And besides, she's half your age," muttered Subaru, quietly.  
  
"Well, so were you..."  
  
"Only when we first met! And speaking of which, I still can't believe you'd make a bet like that with a 6 year old!"  
  
Seishirou muttered something that sounded suspiciously like a comment about PMS. Subaru apparently bit his tongue on whatever he was going to say next.  
  
Touya stared at the pair of them, bewildered. "Now there is a man with very confused sexuality..." he murmured, very, very quietly, in Yukito's ear.  
  
Yukito smiled despite the tense situation.  
  
Sakura spotted the icecream stall first. "Six ice creams please," said Seishirou, with a charming smile.  
  
"But... I was going to pay for Sakura..." began Syaoran.  
  
Touya glowered. "No, /I/ was going to pay..."  
  
"No, no, it's my treat," said Seishirou, in a tone that allowed no argument. Syaoran and Touya subsided, glaring.  
  
"What flavours did you all want?" asked the store lady looking at them all in turn. "We only have strawberry, chocolate and vanilla."  
  
"Chocolate," said Seishirou.  
  
"Vanilla..." Subaru.  
  
"Chocolate." Syaoran.  
  
"All three," said Yukito as if it was the most natural thing in the world. The members of the party that weren't used to Yukito's bottomless pit stomach (that is, everyone except for Touya and Sakura, who lived with him) stared at him in shock.  
  
"Vanilla," said Touya, quickly.   
  
"Strawberry," added Sakura, predictably.  
  
"Here you go..." said the lady, handing them each their ice creams in turn, and giving Yukito three.  
  
"Thank you very much," said Seishirou, paying her substantially.  
  
The six of them made their way to yet another park bench, although there wasn't nearly enough room for all six of them to sit on it. "You can have my lap, Subaru-kun," said Seishirou, generously.  
  
"Seishirou-san!" squeaked Subaru, resolutely moving to sit on the other side of Sakura.  
  
"Hoe..." said Sakura.  
  
Subaru glanced towards her, and seemed to take pity on her for her confusion. "Seishirou's done a lot of things I can't forgive him for..." he said, as if that was an explanation.  
  
Noting the full bench, Touya and Yukito folded themselves up on the grass.  
  
"But you love him, right? And love can overcome anything..." said Sakura, observant, yet somehow tactless, as ever.  
  
"He killed my sister," Subaru said, flatly.  
  
"Hoe..."  
  
That piece of news woke Touya out of his confused and speculative state. He glared at Seishirou in not-so-subtle warning.  
  
"Don't worry, I don't make it a habit..." said Seishirou, smiling casually.  
  
"He killed my sister, broke my heart, paralysed my grandmother, and sexually harasses me whenever the occasion arises," continued Subaru, deadpan.  
  
"HOE..!"  
  
"/And/ he makes car jokes."  
  
Seishirou looked hurt.  
  
"But, Seishirou-san... you must love him back, don't you?" asked Sakura.  
  
/I think my little sister missed the point somewhere there... Last time I checked, the murder of your partner's sister was not something people in love did./  
  
Seishirou just smiled.  
  
Sakura frowned. She jumped off the bench and rummaged in her backpack, eventually bringing out a card out a card. "Libra!" she called. Seishirou watched on, interested.  
  
"Libra?" repeated Subaru, puzzled.  
  
"It's a Clow card," explained Syaoran, patiently. "It tells whether a person is telling the truth or not, and then judges them."  
  
"S-Seishirou-san, what do you really feel for Subaru-san?" asked Sakura, nervously.  
  
Seishirou turned to regard the younger man. "I really do love you, Subaru-kun," he said, smoothly, with an air of quoting something.  
  
"He's telling the truth," said Sakura, staring at her card.  
  
All four non-participants fell over in shock.  
  
"He has Issues..." muttered Touya to Yukito.  
  
"But, Seishirou-san... how can you love me and yet do all that you did?" asked Subaru, looking for all the world like a miserable ten year old.  
  
"Well... we always hurt the ones we love..." began Seishirou.  
  
"Killing of sisters in no way factors in that statement," said Subaru, sharply.  
  
"Why, Subaru... I might even think that you didn't like me."  
  
"I don't!"  
  
"He's not lying... but he's not telling the truth, either. Hooee?!"  
  
"I might still love you... but I can't forgive you," continued Subaru, ignoring Sakura.  
  
"Of course you can," said Seishirou, sliding across the bench and slipping his hand around Subaru's hip.  
  
"Seishirou-san! *slap* *baleful look*  
  
Seishirou pulled Subaru into a heated kiss. Touya looked away, meeting Yukito's eyes on the way. To his amazement, he found himself blushing.  
  
Sakura was making muffled 'hoe' sounds.  
  
"Sei-shi-rou-san..." *deep breaths* "I... oh..." *pause* "Seishirou-san... if you love me, doesn't that mean I won the bet and you don't have to kill me?"  
  
"You know, the French call it the 'little death'."  
  
"SEISHIROU-SAN!"  
  
Before Touya, Yukito or Yue could even step in, Seishirou had scooped Subaru up into his arms and disappeared in a cloud of sakura petals.  
  
/I've seen odd things in my life. But that conversation had to be one of the oddest./  
  
/Did I mention the Sakura petals?/  
  
"Do you think they'll be okay?" said, Yukito, uncertainly.  
  
"I think that Seishirou-san probably won't try to kill him..." said Touya, not very reassuringly.  
  
"...Hoe..."  
  
"I think you should take her home," said Touya to Syaoran, indicating Sakura. Syaoran nodded. He gently guided the still-confused girl towards the nearest exit.  
  
Touya turned to look at Yukito. Yukito looked back at him, expectantly.  
  
"What does Yue have to say about all this?"  
  
Yukito closed his eyes for a moment, which might have been a sign of concentration in anyone else, but in Yukito was a sign of deep internal communication. "He says Seishirou-san is a member of the Sakurazuka clan, the onmouji assassins of Japan. Subaru is a member of the Sumeragi clan, the people that use their magic to protect Japan."  
  
Touya blinked. "That's not very helpful."  
  
"He thinks Subaru will be able to break out of the maboroshi Seishirou pulled them into." Yukito blinked a few times.  
  
Touya sighed. It was all too much to cope with. "Yuki... let's go home."  
  
Yukito nodded.   
  
"To-ya," he added, as they made their way to the car, "we still haven't had a proper date."  
  
Touya groaned.  
  
  
Epilogue:  
  
*ring* *click*  
  
"Tsukishiro and Kinomoto Psychic Detectives Inc, how may I help you?"   
  
Pause.  
  
"Yes, I remember...."  
  
"...So?"  
  
Longer pause.  
  
"I'm sorry, miss, but this is a Psychic Detectives agency, we don't do social escorting or bodyguard work."  
  
"...No, miss. ... No, I'm afraid that unless your ex-boyfriend dies, this is entirely out of our jurisdiction."  
  
"No, I am not giving you any ideas. ... Sorry. Thank you." *slam*  
  
"Dammit, Yuki, YOU'RE answering the next call."  
  
~ * ~  
  
"Anou..."  
  
Touya looked up from his ferocious pen-jabbing to see a familiar dark-haired, green-eyed young man. "Oh, Subaru-san. Good morning."  
  
"Subaru-san..." said Yukito, uncertainly. "Are you okay?"  
  
Subaru nodded, tiredly. "I'm alright... I wanted to thank you."  
  
"Us? Why?" asked Touya.  
  
"Because... because before, I never knew how he felt. I never knew if I was just a pawn, a toy to him or whether he really did feel something for me... "  
  
"It's okay... but you really should be thanking my sister for that."  
  
Subaru smiled weakly. "But I don't know where your sister is... and I'm not sure she'd really want to see me, anyway."  
  
/He probably had a point there. I think Sakura has been trying to put the entire incident out of her mind... A pity I can't do the same thing./  
  
"And now you know..." said Yukito, quietly. "Are you any happier?"  
  
Subaru closed his eyes for a moment. "I think... knowing that the person that caused me all this pain isn't totally indifferent to me... It helps."  
  
Yukito put a hand on his arm. "Does it?"  
  
"I don't want to die any more," said Subaru, very quietly.  
  
Yukito stroked the other man's hair, gently. Touya couldn't find it in his heart to be jealous. /Yuki gives comfort where it is needed. And Subaru-san needs comfort more than anyone else I know right now./  
  
"I'm not even sure that I do love him anymore... I loved who I thought he was, then. But that Seishirou-san wasn't the Sakurazukamori I know now.  
  
"I can't forgive him. I won't ever be able to forgive him.  
  
"But, maybe, now I can start to forget about this awful pain...  
  
"And maybe some day I'll be able to start living again."  
  
~ * ~  
  
*ring*   
*click*   
"Hello? No, sorry, that's my brother... Lingerie? /Hoe/?"   
  
-Tsuzuku-  
  



End file.
